Rock Falls elected officials’ salaries up for an increase

ROCK FALLS – A proposal to increase the salaries of some Rock Falls elected officials passed a first reading at the Rock Falls City Council meeting Tuesday night.

If passed during a second reading of the ordinance, the increases would go into effect April 1, 2025, for all officials whose terms expire before that date. For officials whose terms expire after April 1, 2025, the effective date of the salary increases will be April 6, 2027.

The proposed salary changes are:

• The Rock Falls mayor’s salary is set to be raised from $12,000 a year to $14,400 a year, payable in equal monthly increments.
• The city clerk and city treasurer’s salaries would go from $3,600 a year to $6,000 a year, payable in equal monthly increments.
• Rock Falls aldermen’s salaries would be raised from $300 a month to $500 a month.

Road closures OK’d

Also on Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved several one- and two-day road closures for events through September.

For the Summer Splash event June 21 and 22, the following closures were approved:

• East Second Street in front of RB&W Park all day June 21 and until 4 p.m. June 22. RB&W drive will remain open, as well as Avenue A and Wood Avenue.
• East Second Street from Wood Avenue up to Emmons Avenue from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. June 21 for the 5K route. Access from side streets, including Ada Street and Avenues B-F, will be closed; Wood Avenue will remain open for hotel access.

For the Sick The Magazine – Midwest – Rock Falls Block Party on June 10, the following closures were approved from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.:

• East Second Street in front of RB&W Park from Avenue A to Wood Avenue.
• West First Street from just west of the parking lot of the United Way building to just beyond the first entrance to the lower dam.
• Second Avenue from West First Street to West Second Street.

Rock Falls’ Independence Day celebration July 3 garnered the closure of East Second Street in front of RB&W Park from Avenue A to Wood Avenue from 2 to 11 p.m.

For the Art in the Park Outdoor Art Gallery/Sculpture Walk on Aug. 24, the council approved closing East Second Street from Avenue A to Wood Avenue from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Taco Throwdown Festival on Sept. 27 will have East Second Street closed from Avenue A to Wood Avenue from 1 to 11 p.m.

In other business, the City Council:

• Had a first reading on the appropriation ordinance for fiscal 2025. The fiscal year started May 1 and ends April 30, 2025.
• Voted unanimously to purchase 303 14th Ave. from Lonnie Fisher, independent administrator of the estate of Trudy K. Fisher, for $1. The city has numerous liens against the property for unpaid costs and expenses paid in connection with weed removal, utilities and other things, according to Ordinance No. 2024-2646.
• Unanimously approved the purchase of 120 water meters from Ferguson Waterworks of DeKalb for $18,930.
• Unanimously accepted the $30,909 proposal from WesTech of Salt Lake City, Utah, for materials needed for the repair to Filter 3.
• Unanimously approved the proposal from Behrens Trucking of Rock Falls for an amount not to exceed $20,000 for cleanout of the drainage ditch.
• Unanimously accepted the $17,472 quote from PirTano Construction of Addison for the Eighth Avenue and West 19th Street boring project.
• Unanimously accepted a $12,902.50 quote from Kirby Cable Services of Pecatonica for the East Fifth Street feeder boring project.
• Unanimously accepted the $13,6256 proposal from Survalent Technology of Buffalo, New York, for a 1422 SCADA Silver Package Support Plan Pack.